


Under a Moon of Blood

by AcrackinReality



Series: Blurry and Cryptic [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Blood moon, Canon-Typical Violence, Flashback, It's limited, Legend POV, Mother Malon, This Was Supposed To Be A One Shot, Warriors POV, Wild and Wolfie are badass, Wild is adorable, Wild is hard to read, Wild likes fire, Wolfie POV?, Wolfie may or may not encourage it, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, also because Legend, finals season mate, he doesn't know what a sink is, it reads a lot more like third person, no one likes the blood moon, now it's two chapters, or a stove, so are fight scenes, tags are hard mate, that it?, that's why it's rated teen, wells man, yeah.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28273209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcrackinReality/pseuds/AcrackinReality
Summary: Warriors has not seen Wild truly fight -"He needs this data to better understand the hero’s fighting abilities and effectively incorporate him into their strategies. And he’s not going to have a conversation with a statue for the fifth time. "- that is, until the Blood Moon.
Series: Blurry and Cryptic [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002768
Comments: 9
Kudos: 269





	1. Prelude to a Blood Bath

**Author's Note:**

> This one’s a bit short. That’s just cuz we’re running behind and would rather give you some content then have you wait til very-end-of-December / early-January ish for a long one-shot.
> 
> So we split this where enough was written and the writing was cohesive enough. It also needed to make sense: aka flashback. 
> 
> Actual Blood Moon is in Ch. 2. See y’all in a week or two!

Warriors had an idea. Granted, there’s a high chance Time and Malon wouldn’t like it, but what can you do? 

Twilight might not either. Seriously, he’s never seen someone get attached to a stalking shadow so quickly.

They’re just gonna have to deal with it. He has no other choice.

Either attempt to get an unresponsive, not to mention new, recruit to spar with him or let the kid loose on a moblin on his own. 

He needs this data to better understand the hero’s fighting abilities and effectively incorporate him into their strategies. And he’s not going to have a conversation with a statue for the fifth time. 

Warriors comes close to rounding the corner when he stops to listen to Malon’s giggles over the sound of a running sink.

“It’s okay, sweetie! It’s just water!”

He strides into the kitchen then. Malon looks up and smiles. She nods a hello, then returns to what appears to be her coaxing Wild’s hands to the sink.

Wild is sitting on the counter, body stiff and twisted to face the sink. He gave no indication he was aware of Warriors.

“Here. See?”

Malon put her own hand under the water, letting it flow calmly. It pools in her palm and cascades through her fingers.

This seems to convince the kid that the sink was safe only since he gave less resistance to Malon.

Warriors swore he could hear a small gasp as the liquid hit Wild’s fingers. 

Warriors was out of shape in reading body language. And even then, he was used to reading anxiety, anticipation, or even grief from stern and battle-hardened soldiers. Not to say that a hero isn’t someone he just described; it’s just… different. 

Something about the kid bothers him.

Wild, hands still under the running faucet, started twitching his hands, watching the water displace and swirl with the barest of movement.

He was completely infatuated with something so fundamental and commonplace, reminiscent of a child meeting a fairy for the first time.

Again, something about the kid bothers him. 

“Has he never seen a sink before…?”

Legend stood beside him, leaning against the wall and peaking around the corner. Hyrule was on the wall parallel to Legend.

“We haven’t seen much of his Hyrule yet. Maybe he’s between Sky and Time.”

“Don’t think so. Did you see that merchant that randomly attacked us? He had the sheikah symbol on his mask, but flipped. That’s new to us.”

Legend hummed. “For _once_ , you’ve got a point there, Wars. Plus, hasn’t Sky seen a sink?”

How could a sink of all things be lost to time? And if that’s true, he’s scared to think of what else was lost. Architecture, technology, weapon maintenance - the possibilities are practically endless at this point.

Malon has a serine smile that didn’t quite reach the sad, distant look in her eyes. She left Wild on the counter, moving to turn on the stove.

“Done with your share, boys?”

All three answered with a “Yes, Ma’am.”

Malon humms, thinking. With a few clicks, the stove ignites.

Wild snaps to attention, not looking away from the sink. His body stiffened again and the movement under the hood tells Warriors that his ears twitched at the sound.

“You wanna see?”

Wild slips off the counter and slinks across the kitchen. Malon explains the mechanism and watches as the kid repeatedly ignites and extinguishes the flames.

The sight was adorable, but it left a sour taste in Warriors’ mouth.

“Would you like any help?” Sweet Hyrule, always willing to help. It’s a shame he’s in possession of a borderline godly ability to render any and every meal inedible. 

“No, no, Wild’s help enough. Why don’t you help the others finish their chores?”

“You sure?” Warriors doesn’t blame Legend’s scepticism.

“Of course. He’s just unfamiliar with the utilities ‘s all.” She chuckles, “Asked me where the well was so he could get water.”

He finds himself with a slight smile. “A well? But that’s only used when - ”

“Wait - ” Legend turns the corner, no longer leaning. “He spoke to you?”

The same realization hit him. Hyrule as well, probably.

“Not really talk…,” Malon waves her hands in fluid, meaningful motions, “sign. It’s different, a bit janky too, even for sign, but it was enough.”

“Huh. Alright, if you say so, Miss.”

The three leave.

He never did get to ask, did he?


	2. Death by Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blood Moon starts.
> 
> Not long ago, everyone was in, what Warriors would call it, “high spirits.” The information they received last night did not sit well, to put it kindly.
> 
> But it’s only now, with the sun almost gone, that they notice something wrong.
> 
> It reminded Warriors of Ganon. That wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t think of anything to compare the feeling to. He couldn’t quite shake off the notion that it could be **him**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill: “~~~~~” means perspective change.
> 
> We know you all want to know what the heroes think if / when they connect the dots with Twilight’s wolf form, but they just have too much on their mind at the moment.
> 
> Man, fighting scenes are **hard**. It was fun to write though!
> 
> _Ehehehehe……_

The sun was slipping, its light fading, dyeing the sky in hues of reds and purples as it’s slowly consumed by the earth below.

Wild and Wolfie were in the lead.

Not long ago, everyone was in, what Warriors would call it, “high spirits.” The information they received last night did not sit well, to put it kindly.

None of them could address it this morning. According to the… Stablehand? Stablemaster?, Wild had already made breakfast and he and Wolfie were outside already.

Time was at the table, sipping what looked like an impressively hand-carved mug.

“Let the rest sleep. According to Wolfie, we’re going to need as much sleep as we can get.”

Warriors couldn’t reply with anything but a nod.

He remembers looking out the doorway to see Wolfie and Wild wrestling, and he couldn’t help but compare the Wolfie he knew to the one he saw. 

Only then had his mind fully registered the differences. This Wolfie is darker, stronger, bigger, quieter. 

It fits with how, well, wild this Hyrule is.

The rest of their group had gradually woken, and soon they were back on the road.

Warriors had caught… _something_ … in Twilight’s eyes as Wolfie shifted into hylian, the muffled sounds of crackling bones under a cloak of black mist disturbing no one but them. 

Wild shook himself off like a wolf, the same way he did after they found shelter from the rain a Hyrule or two ago, and stood normally (normal for a hylian). He was still wearing the cloak, but his outfit underneath seemed bulkier than what he was used to. The lump on his arm in particular had an interesting shape to it. 

Wolfie waved goodbye and the Stablehand bid their farewells, mentioning how the two shouldn’t suddenly drop out of existence and check into the stables more frequently.

Last night just wasn’t in their heads. 

Not until they ran into some ruins. Then came the questioning.

“Castle Town is in fucking ruins!?”

“What happened here?”

“What are Guardians? How do we fight them if they can kill in one shot?”

“Where’s Zelda? Is she okay?”

“What’s the device you used at dinner?”

“What magic item was that? Where can I get one?”

Warriors was guilty of the same bombardment, though he couldn’t exactly help himself. There was too much to think about.

Wolfie had lowered his head and Wild had pulled his hood down far. The small growl could’ve been from either of them.

It was only a matter of time when - 

“QUIET!”

That got everyone’s attention. 

Sure, they’re used to Legend snapping, but this was of a different tone. He sounded tired and annoyed and old, so unlike the aloof Wolfie they came to know these past two days.

“Sweet Malonya, do you all need to know _everything_ on day one!? Can none of you go a day in silence?

Yes, our Hyrule is in ruins. You’re just gonna have to ask Impa about that because now is _not the time_.”

And so they’ve been walking in silence entirely without a set path. Their guides have diverted from one a while ago.

And it’s only now, with the sun almost gone, that they notice something wrong.

It reminded Warriors of Ganon. That wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t think of anything to compare the feeling to. He couldn’t quite shake off the notion that it could be **him**.

Legend and Hyrule, two of the more magically sensitive heroes, are on obvious high alert. 

Wolfie suddenly stopped, causing Hyrule to flinch into a battle stance and Legend to pull a weapon. The rest did the same, him included. A slight tug told him the sailor had latched a hand to his scarf.

“Alright, listen up! The Blood Moon starts the moment the moon breaks the horizon. We’re splitting into three groups to cover ground. Keep them away from the mountains over there; that’s where Kakariko is.”

Ah. Battle plans. He can deal with this.

“Alright. We can split into two groups of three and one group of four. We can go Legend, Twilight, and Time in one, Me, Wind, and - ”

“That’s fine, but I was thinking me and Cub in a group and you eight split in two.”

“Uhh… Okay.” He understood that the two are the closest, but wouldn’t it be safer to have a guide in each group? Or have higher numbers? Warriors still can’t put his finger on it, but the atmosphere is giving him goosebumps. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. Set a tree on fire if you’re in trouble,” a pause, “or just holler. Cub can hear you.”

Wild leapt into the tree above and Wolfie looked just about ready to break into a run when he whipped his head back.

“Oh yeah! Have you run into the infected?”

“The infected?” That sounds important.

“Yeah, those that spill black blood.”

“Obviously. We’re heroes for fuck’s sake, why wouldn’t we have?” Language alone let Warriors know the origin of the voice.

“Stay alert. They get stronger under the Blood Moon.”

The tree above rustled, indicating movement, and Wolfie ran off in a sprint. They were left to digest.

“So they call black-blooded monsters infected?”

“Set a tree on _fire_? **What?** ”

“Just to signal for help?”

“I mean… If it’s effective then...”

A groan. “You guys are helpless.”

“So… what do we do now? Where do we go?”

Good question. He sighs. They’re in unknown lands and their guides failed their **one** job. He needs to be smart in this split and keep tight bonds together in case of trouble. “Sky, Four, Legend, and Hyrule, you go that way. The rest of you, we can go back this way.”

Warriors feels Time’s hand on his shoulder. “And we are **not** going to set trees ablaze. Just yell or detonate a bomb in the air if you’re really desperate.” Without looking, he could feel the old man’s glare. It was probably for Legend or Four, but Sky might also be included. Warriors doesn’t think Sky would do such a thing, but Time knows more than he does and he’s seen the guy jump off cliffs with no hesitation so…

The group splits, and almost immediately, Wind starts complaining.

“Stronger?! Monsters are strong enough on their own! The black blood is already an OP powerup. This feels like cheating.”

“I hear you,” Twilight huffs. 

The moon emerges, and the group of four immediately freezes as they’re bathed in red light.

Wolfie wasn’t kidding.

Twilight was the first to go down, falling to a squat, eyes shut and hands covering his nose in obvious pain. Or was it Time, stuck staring at the moon with his one eye wide open in shock and distant horror? Maybe it was the sailor, winding his scarf tighter around his hand and taking in a sharp breath as he hangs his head in an attempt to stay strong. Perhaps it was himself, watching the moon, dripping in the same color as what flows through every hylian’s veins, helpless to the flashbacks of war.

Warriors had just forced himself out of his haze when Time’s hand squeezed his shoulder.

“Let’s… Let’s keep going…”

There was nothing to say. Nothing to reply with.

Warriors grabs Wind’s hand, still wrapped in his scarf, as he follows Time and Twilight. They walk under the eerie and unnatural light, following the distinct cheer of crazed bokoblins. 

“Hey, Ranch-hand, you alright there?” he asks, voice a bit too anxious and soft.

“Yeah… Just disoriented… _really_ disoriented.” As well as in pain, Warriors notes. Wind isn’t doing too well under the ash either, he mused. 

They continue to walk in tense silence, pursuing the closest source of gleeful shrieks. Warriors himself occupies his mind in how they can deal with what battle they will inevitably find themselves in.

~~~~~

He ran before they could ask anything more.

If he was aware of the cruel situation he forced the Heroes of Old into, throwing them into a fight with less than optimal preparation, he didn’t show it.

His cub dropped from the treetops and kept with his pace.

He wasn’t following Wolfie. They were simply heading to the same destination.

_I hear them._

_I do too._

After a quick exchange of barks, the two stare in silent conversation and then split. Traces of blue tell him the Little Fox removed his cloak. He darts one way as Wolfie dashes in the other. 

Their prey? Guardians.

Their tactics were consistent and predictable, though machines such as Guardians would have no way of knowing such.

Wolfie activated the blade of his ancient sword and threw a rock to bait the enemy’s attention. He slid under, dragging his blade across the underbelly and lopping a leg off as he emerges, and bolts, removing another leg, while the guardian reorients itself. He continues running, giving the machine no time to lock its weapon on him.

Taking his third leg, Wolfie successfully forces the guardian into imbalance. Its turret-like head is angled upward and the edge of the machine is dragged along the ground since there is nothing left to support the weight there.

He stops his circling and rushes head on. With another leg severed, Wolfie kicks, toppling the guardian. Sliding down the machine as it falls, Wolfie digs his blade in the eye. Light and liquid, both the sheikah blue, leak from the now cracked hull. He hears that familiar beep and jumps off.

The lazer fires uselessly in the air and the guardian explodes.

The Cub has a quicker method thanks to the slate.

He rushes from the side and freezes the guardian with stasis. With a meaner weapon, an ancient bladesaw, he attacks until the rune is released, at which point the machine falls on its side from the compressed force caused by his onslaught. The Little Fox then guts the thing from the bottom. 

He needs to chase it some due to the guardian slithering about. It twists its bottom to get purchase of the ground and right itself, and that combines with the force of the weapon, causing the machine to slide around a bit.

Nonetheless, it proves effective, and the target is destroyed in no time. 

The two scour for nuts and screws, Wolfie himself resisting the urge to further wreck the remains to bits, and soon they’re off again.

_I can smell a camp ahead._

_I can hear them._

_Let’s go._

They come across a camp of mostly black bokoblins, dancing and reveling under the crimson light of the moon above.

“Any moment now...”

The moon snaps white and the malice-saturated atmosphere stills. The ash ceases and dematerializes, leaving the camp of monsters silent and on alert, though in no less of a frenzy. 

Wolfie flashes his fangs in a grin. “Why don’t we give them a scare?”

The Little Fox mirrors his grin as Wolfie turns to the wolf. 

~~~~~

Legend finally manages to hack the bokoblin’s head off. That injury seems to do the trick in taking the monster’s life. The body is littered in cuts and gashes, all oozing blackened blood and all failed attempts at killing the thing.

He wipes his brow and moves in to help Hyrule.

The Blood Moon scared him. It scared all of them.

Legend hasn’t felt such fear in a _long_ time. Besides, he’s more used to surreal horror.

Not whatever this shit is.

The moon is a lethal red, there is ash everywhere, and whatever magic is in the air has his blood boiling yet frozen solid at the same time, his instincts telling him that everything is wrong and that nothing is right and to run, _run_ , **run!**

This is real. It’s not surreal enough that he can just pass it off as another “perk” of Hylia’s damned adventures. He’s never heard bokoblins squeal with such glee, but he can’t shrug it off as an illusion or a dream. This is real and he is drowning in magic that reminds him a bit too much of that _swine_ , even if it isn’t him.

Hyrule feels much the same way, maybe worse with his fairy blood. 

He’s unsure about Sky and Four. It’s taking all of his focus to both ignore his instincts and not die at the same time. 

An explosion goes off in the distance, but Legend can’t see through the red.

Four shouts in alarm. The explosion may have distracted the heroes, but not their enemies. Sky got to the rescue quickly enough to reduce harm, but the damage had already been done. 

Legend cuts down the monster he was working on, the wound bleeding a less concerning shade of red, and reaches out to Hyrule.

“Save your strength. We have potions for a reason.”

Hyrule sighs. “Yeah. The others are probably in trouble anyway.”

“No,” Four downs a potion, “That was more mechanical. Bombs don’t make that kind of noise, at least, I don’t think so.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Hello? Smithy. Those mechanisms that keep the fire going? They explode on rare occasions.”

“Huh.”

“Besides, that wasn’t in the direction of them anyway. Wild and Wolfie went that way.”

“Less chit chat. Let’s keep moving.” Sky sheaths Fi.

And like that, the red was gone.

“What the fuck?” Legend couldn’t help but stare. The fact that the goosebumps were gone was hardly a reason for relief.

“It’s gone quiet.”

“Is it over?”

A roar, deep and angry and powerful, rips through the air.

Legend recognizes that sound. He knows it almost by heart.

“Lynel...”

“Oh no.”

~~~~~

“What’s everyone just standing around… for...” Warriors can hear Legend go from annoyed and tense to bewildered.

Yeah, Warriors doesn’t know what’s going on either.

Stairs to a bokoblin camp cling to a charred tree, the rest of the structure collapsed and in dying flames. Bodies litter the site, the ground muddied with a mix of red and black blood. 

Wolfie is inspecting a corpse. He appears to be relaxed and unconcerned with the situation his partner is in.

Wild is fighting the last two bokoblins. He was wearing some sort of leather armor, fitted with an assortment of bone. The strange lump Warriors observed earlier appear to be a chunk of spine from some monster affixed to provide extra protection. He shoves one back with his forearm, the bone digging deep in the bokoblin’s chest, and shocks it still with his electric weapon. He then focuses on the other, dodging a swing of a gnarly club and then attacking at an insane rate.

The monster dies from that, of course. It was as if Wild was stopping time, if just for a moment. How he did, or even what item he used, remains unknown. It was too quick to see. 

Wild moves on before he could really process much of anything, the weapon dematerializing in his hand.

_Oh, god. He needs a weapon for that!_

Another hero or two shouts; Warriors doesn’t pick out who.

Wild tackles the remaining bokoblin, who had barely gotten back to its feet, digging his nails deep in its throat. The monster thrashes about violently and managed to scratch the kid’s shoulder, which he (concerningly - Warriors can feel his brother instincts tingling) didn’t respond to. Wild suddenly brings his foot up and swipes his heel across its face, receiving screams of agony. The end of the motion revealed a small piece of bone on his heel. With a repugnant snap of the neck, the blinded bokoblin was dead, crimson blood flowing from the holes Wild had clawed in his prey.

Warriors couldn’t see his expression from where he was behind the kid, but Wild remained on the body, still and head tilted to the side. He then started chewing on the horn.

_Hylia, this kid…_

“Got any quieter armor? Cub says you lot are louder than a moblin.” Wolfie looks up at them, breaking Warriors out of his head, then tosses a fang at Wild. The kid looked at it, the fang had stopped just in reach, then went back to what he was doing previously. The fang turns to blue ribbons and disappears at Wild’s hip. Wolfie chuckles, then moves on to a new corpse.

Wild manages to chew the horn off. It shortly disintegrates to the same blue ribbons.

“What’s going on?” Time recomposes himself the fastest. “We heard a lynel. Thought we could provide backup. They shouldn’t be handled in low numbers.”

“We were thinking the same,” Hyrule adds in, “Where is it anyway?”

Wolfie’s chuckle transforms to a full on smirk. It reminds him of Legend’s when he has an idea. Warriors finds himself unsure at the moment. 

Wolfie then turns to Wild and stands. His arms are up like a bear, hands resembling claws.

“Cub! Hey Cub!” He roars, the sound between a monster’s howl and a wolf’s growl. Warriors is not fond of that sound, but finds himself impressed Wolfie could make it at all. 

What Wild replies with, however, really takes the cake.

His was chilling. A roar powerful and deep with a hint of anger. A mini lynel.

“I knew something was off...” Hyrule mummers out loud. He himself can’t tell the difference, if that was what Hyrule was picking up. He shouldn’t be surprised, actually.

Wolfie was full on laughing at this point. He couldn’t see much comprehension in Wild, but the kid started laughing anyway.

He didn’t blame him. He himself was laughing.

Wind ran off, cackling. 

“Again! Do it again, Wild!” The sailor brings his arms up and copies Wolfie. He roars a sad, garbled growl and ends up coughing. “God, how the heck did you do that?”

Wolfie rolls back laughing while Wild tilts his head in clear confusion. Wolfie nods in Wind’s direction, then barks.

Wild visibly lights up, then roars back at Wind.

The three break into laughter. Twilight behind him threatens to succumb to the same fate, Sky and Four slipping as well.

“Idiots, ” Legend scoffs, but Warriors can see the smile.

Warriors watches Wolfie cut into a bokoblin’s belly. He knows some people like to loot the monsters, but this is straight up butchering it. 

“What are you doing? Harvesting?”

“Yup. They’re for elixirs.”

“Elixirs?”

“Yeah. They can heal you, make you more resistant to temperatures, give you extra stamina...”

“Oh! Yeah, we call ‘em potions. So, what, you trade monster parts for them? Is that how things are?”

Wolfie snorts. “No, you use them to brew them! No merchant would want monster parts! Well, except for Kilton...” He mumbles the last part. 

_This Kilton guy sounds interesting…_

_Wait…_

“You can brew your own potions?!”

“Uhh… Yeah? Everyone can. Though, you’ve gotta have skill to get them right, so travelers are still willing to take some off your hands. No one sells them though. Too valuable.”

Stunned? Impressed? Scared for the state this Hyrule seems to be in the more information he gets? Warriors doesn’t know what to think at this point.

“So, ” Time wanders over, fighting a smile as Four and Twilight join in the roaring, “Kakariko?”

“Soon.” Wolfie takes the guts out from the corpse’s belly and looks around, satisfied. “Still need to get the groups on the other side of the path. I bet you all will be tired by that point. We’ll take the day off at Kakariko to let you rest.”

“What, not including yourself?” Warriors questions, a bit concerned, though not enough for it to show. “Sounds like a bad idea.”

“I will if the cub decides to.” He barks at Wild and throws the guts. The other, with a twitch of his ears, catches it. Wind yelps with a _“Gross, ”_ giggling.

“Do you have the same monstrous stamina as Wild? Or is it the other way around?”

Wolfie simply smiles with a false sense of innocence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next part coming **real quick**. Be prepared, y’all are gonna need it.


End file.
